2025 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST NEW COMICS FOR ADULTS • AMAZON COMIXOLOGY BEST OF 2025 "Exquisite Corpses combines the elements of a classic mystery with a to-the-death struggle in the vein of The Purge or Hunger Games." —FORBES Every five years on Halloween, the wealthiest families in America play a game. Twelve of the deadliest people in the world are dropped into a small town with just one goal: last killer standing wins. For the citizens of Oak Valley, Maine – this year's unlucky arena – the goal is much simpler. They must survive the night. Experience a comics event like no other from the minds of James Tynion IV (Something is Killing the Children, The Department of Truth) & Michael Walsh (The Silver Coin, Universal Monsters: Frankenstein), as they lead a group of the most exciting voices in the industry. In this blood-soaked first volume, James & Michael are joined by Pornsak Pichetshote (The Good Asian), Marianna Ignazzi (Catwoman), and Valentine De Landro (Bitch Planet) to collaborate & compete to determine who wins... and who dies. Collects issues #1-3.

2020 Reprint of the 1959 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition and not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. This edition reprints the first English Language Edition translated by Gregory Zilboorg in 1924 and published by E. P. Dutton in New York. Contains a new introduction by Peter Rudy and a preface by Marc Slonim. The novel describes a world of ostensible harmony and conformity within a united totalitarian state. George Orwell claimed that Aldous Huxley's 1931 Brave New World must be partly derived from We, but Huxley denied it. Along with Jack London's The Iron Heel, We is generally considered to be the grandfather of the satirical futuristic dystopia genre. It takes the modern industrial society to an extreme conclusion, depicting a state that believes that free will is the cause of unhappiness, and that citizens' lives should be controlled with mathematical precision based on the system of industrial efficiency created by Frederick Winslow Taylor. The Soviet attempt at implementing Taylorism, led by Aleksei Gastev, may have influenced Zamyatin's portrayal of the One State. It remains a classic nearly one hundred years after publication.

The fourth novel in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series THE EPIC SAGA THAT INSPIRED THE APPLE TV+ SERIES FOUNDATION At last, the costly and bitter war between the two Foundations has come to an end. The scientists of the First Foundation have proved victorious, and now they return to Hari Seldon’s long established plan to build a new Empire on the ruins of the old. But rumors persist that the Second Foundation is not destroyed after all—and that its still-defiant survivors are preparing their revenge. Now two exiled citizens of the Foundation—a renegade Councilman and a doddering historian—set out in search of the mythical planet Earth . . . and proof that the Second Foundation still exists. Meanwhile someone—or something—outside of both Foundations seems to be orchestrating events to suit its own ominous purpose. Soon representatives of both the First and Second Foundations will find themselves racing toward a mysterious world called Gaia and a final, shocking destiny at the very end of the universe.

The exhilarating dystopian novel that inspired George Orwell's 1984 and foreshadowed the worst excesses of Soviet Russia, featuring a foreword by the National Book Award-winning New Yorker journalist Masha Gessen Yevgeny Zamyatin's We is a powerfully inventive vision that has influenced writers from George Orwell to Ayn Rand. In a glass-enclosed city of absolute straight lines, ruled over by the all-powerful 'Benefactor', the citizens of the totalitarian society of OneState live out lives devoid of passion and creativity - until D-503, a mathematician who dreams in numbers, makes a discovery: he has an individual soul. Set in the twenty-sixth century AD, We is the classic dystopian novel and was the forerunner of works such as George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. It was suppressed for many years in Russia and remains a resounding cry for individual freedom, yet is also a powerful, exciting and vivid work of science fiction. Clarence Brown's brilliant translation is based on the corrected text of the novel, first published in Russia in 1988 after more than sixty years' suppression.

"The ghost is the most enduring figure in supernatural fiction. He is absolutely indestructible. . . . He changes with the styles in fiction but he never goes out of fashion. He is the really permanent citizen of the earth, for mortals, at best, are but transients." —Dorothy Scarborough This new selection of ghost stories, by Michael Newton, brings together the best of the genre. From Elizabeth Gaskell's "The Old Nurse's Story" through to Edith Wharton's "Afterward," this collection covers all of the most terrifying tales of the genre. With a thoughtful introduction, and helpful notes, Newton places the stories contextually within the genre and elucidates the changing nature of the ghost story and how we interpret it. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

"Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains" These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has not ceased to stir vigorous debate since its first publication in 1762. Rejecting the view that anyone has a natural right to wield authority over others, Rousseau argues instead for a pact, or 'social contract', that should exist between all the citizens of a state and that should be the source of sovereign power. From this fundamental premise, he goes on to consider issues of liberty and law, freedom and justice, arriving at a view of society that has seemed to some a blueprint for totalitarianism, to others a declaration of democratic principles. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

What is the dark and terrifying secret that haunts Moonlight Cove? The No.1 bestselling classic from Dean Koontz, the master of chilling suspense, where four unlikely survivors confront the darkest realms of human nature. P erfect for fans of THE EYES OF DARKNESS and Stephen King. The citizens of Moonlight Cove, California, are changing. Some are losing touch with their deepest emotions. Others are surrendering to their wildest urges. Four people are drawn together by terrifying circumstance. A young woman determined to find the truth behind her sister's suicide; an undercover federal agent; a child on the run from her parents; and a wheelchair-bound veteran. As darkness descends, these four must confront the chilling nightmare of Moonlight Cove.... 'A triumph.' The New York Times 'Blood-chilling...The eerie mood of this creepy, crawly novel is vividly etched...gripping.' Los Angeles Times What readers are saying about Midnight: 'Captivating! Enthralling! Another Masterpiece!' ***** Goodreads review 'This was literally the most enthralling book I have ever read. It still haunts my dreams.' ***** Goodreads review 'Another nail biter! Loved this edge of your seat mystery!' ***** Goodreads review

Larry McMurtry burst onto the American literary scene with a force that would forever redefine how we perceive the American West. His first three novels- Horseman, Pass By (1961),* Leaving Cheyenne (1963), and The Last Picture Show (1966)- all set in the north Texas town of Thalia after World War II, are collected here for the first time. In this trilogy, McMurtry writes tragically of men and women trying to carve out an existence on the plains, where the forces of modernity challenge small- town American life. From a cattleranch rivalry that confirms McMurtry's "full- blooded Western genius" (Publishers Weekly) to a love triangle involving a cowboy, his rancher boss and wife, and finally to the hardscrabble citizens of an oil- patch town trying to keep their only movie house alive, McMurtry captures the stark realities of the West like no one else. With a new introduction, Thalia emerges as an American classic that celebrates one of our greatest literary masters. *Just named in 2017 by Publishers Weekly the #1 Western novel worthy of rediscovery.

In The Story of Liberty & Old Times in the Colonies, Charles Carleton Coffin joins two historical enterprises: a broad narrative of the growth of political and religious freedom, and a vivid reconstruction of everyday colonial America. Written in the lucid, morally earnest style of nineteenth-century popular history, the book combines anecdote, biography, and patriotic interpretation, placing the American colonial experience within a longer struggle against tyranny, intolerance, and inherited privilege. Coffin was a New England journalist, reform-minded observer, and celebrated Civil War correspondent whose historical writings sought to educate young citizens as much as to entertain them. His firsthand experience of national crisis, together with his Protestant moral sensibility and republican commitments, shaped his interest in liberty as an achieved inheritance rather than an abstraction. His histories reflect the postbellum desire to explain America's origins through courage, conscience, and civic responsibility. This volume is recommended for readers interested in classic American historical writing, the culture of nineteenth-century patriotism, and the ways earlier generations interpreted the colonial past. Though modern readers will note its period assumptions, Coffin's narrative remains energetic, instructive, and revealing.

A lively new translation of Rousseau's best-known work, accompanied by additional political writings "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains" are the famous opening words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Social Contract, a work of political philosophy that has stirred vigorous debate ever since its publication in 1762. Rejecting the view that anyone has a natural right to sovereignty, Rousseau argues instead for a pact—a "social contract"—that should exist among all the citizens of a state and that should be the source of governing power. From this premise, he goes on to consider issues of liberty and justice, arriving at a view of society that has seemed to some a blueprint for totalitarianism, to others a declaration of democratic principles. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Some 2.5 billion human beings live in severe poverty, deprived of such essentials as adequate nutrition, safe drinking water, basic sanitation, adequate shelter, literacy, and basic health care. One third of all human deaths are from poverty-related causes: 18 million annually, including over 10 million children under five. However huge in human terms, the world poverty problem is tiny economically. Just 1 percent of the national incomes of the high-income countries would suffice to end severe poverty worldwide. Yet, these countries, unwilling to bear an opportunity cost of this magnitude, continue to impose a grievously unjust global institutional order that foreseeably and avoidably perpetuates the catastrophe. Most citizens of affluent countries believe that we are doing nothing wrong. Thomas Pogge seeks to explain how this belief is sustained. He analyses how our moral and economic theorizing and our global economic order have adapted to make us appear disconnected from massive poverty abroad. Dispelling the illusion, he also offers a modest, widely sharable standard of global economic justice and makes detailed, realistic proposals toward fulfilling it. Thoroughly updated, the second edition of this classic book incorporates responses to critics and a new chapter introducing Pogge's current work on pharmaceutical patent reform.

The second world war classic of life under Nazi occupation. Némirovsky was sent to Auschwitz in 1942. In 1941, Irène sat down to write a book that would convey the magnitude of what she was living through by evoking the domestic lives and personal trials of the ordinary citizens of France. Némirovsky's death in Auschwitz in 1942 prevented her from seeing the day, sixty-five years later, that the existing two sections of her planned novel sequence, Suite Française, would be rediscovered and hailed as a masterpiece. Set during the year that France fell to the Nazis, Suite Française falls into two parts. The first is a brilliant depiction of a group of Parisians as they flee the Nazi invasion; the second follows the inhabitants of a small rural community under occupation. Suite Française is a novel that teems with wonderful characters struggling with the new regime. However, amidst the mess of defeat, and all the hypocrisy and compromise, there is hope. True nobility and love exist, but often in surprising places. VINTAGE FRENCH CLASSICS - six masterpieces of French fiction in collectable editions. 'A masterpiece of French fiction' Sunday Times 'One of those rare books that demands to be read' Guardian

“The surprise ‘must-read’ for people facing the Covid-19 epidemic.” —The Telegraph In 1665 the plague swept through London, claiming over 97,000 lives. Daniel Defoe was just five at the time of the plague, but he later called on his own memories, as well as his writing experience, to create this vivid chronicle of the epidemic and its victims. A Journal (1722) follows Defoe's fictional narrator as he traces the devastating progress of the plague through the streets of London. Here we see a city transformed: some of its streets suspiciously empty, some—with crosses on their doors—overwhelmingly full of the sounds and smells of human suffering. And every living citizen he meets has a horrifying story that demands to be heard. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

With a new introduction by the authors, this is the classic account of the American statesmen who rebuilt the world after the catastrophe of World War II. A captivating blend of personal biography and public drama, The Wise Men introduces six close friends who shaped the role their country would play in the dangerous years following World War II. They were the original best and brightest, whose towering intellects, outsize personalities, and dramatic actions would bring order to the postwar chaos and leave a legacy that dominates American policy to this day. The Wise Men shares the stories of Averell Harriman, the freewheeling diplomat and Roosevelt’s special envoy to Churchill and Stalin; Dean Acheson, the secretary of state who was more responsible for the Truman Doctrine than Truman and for the Marshall Plan than General Marshall; George Kennan, self-cast outsider and intellectual darling of the Washington elite; Robert Lovett, assistant secretary of war, undersecretary of state, and secretary of defense throughout the formative years of the Cold War; John McCloy, one of the nation’s most influential private citizens; and Charles Bohlen, adroit diplomat and ambassador to the Soviet Union.

In Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal–winning classic, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind his fragile community. Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce newchildren, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Everyone is the same. Except Jonas. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Gradually Jonas learns that power lies in feelings. But when his own power is put to the test—when he must try to save someone he loves—he may not be ready. Is it too soon? Or too late? Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs. The Giver has become one of the most influential novels of our time. Don't miss the powerful companion novels in Lois Lowry's Giver Quartet: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.

The mysterious Palace of Dreams stands at the heart of a vast but fragile Balkan empire. Inside, workers assiduously sift, sort, classify, and ultimately interpret the dreams of the empire's citizens. The workers search out Master-Dreams that will provide clues to the destiny of the empire and its Sultan. Mark-Alem, scion of a noble family that has provided viziers to the Sultan from time immemorial, and whose power the Sultan distrusts, is recruited into the Palace of Dreams at the humblest level. He immediately feels the terrible pressure that drives his coworkers, the dread of overlooking a crucial dream whose capture and interpretation might avert political disaster. But he rapidly rises through the hierarchy-only barely ?nding his bearings in one section of the Palace's labyrinthine passages that represent the entire empire's consciousness laid bare before he is promoted to another. And the pressure only increases as he becomes familiar with the fates of subversive dreamers and personally responsible for the sorts of dreams that might ruin an entire family. A family like his own with this beautifully bound hardcover edition, The Palace of Dreams is powerfully imagined and beautifully written, a national classic from one of Albania's premiere literary voices.

First published at the end of 1815, Jane Austen's "Emma" is the story of Emma Woodhouse, a young girl from a good home that does not need the financial support of a husband and is determined not to marry. Emma however is not opposed to the idea of marriage for others and is determined to play matchmaker between the local citizens. Greatly overestimating her own matchmaking abilities, the headstrong young girl is blind to the dangers of meddling in the affairs of others. When she confuses the attentions of Mr. Elton, the local vicar, as interest for her friend Harriet Smith, she briefly ruins the opportunity for Harriet to marry a respectable, educated, and well-spoken young farmer named Robert Martin. When Mr. Elton rejects the idea of being matched with Harriet, the girl is heartbroken, and Emma begins to realize that her actions although well-intended maybe doing more harm than good. In spite of Emma's resolve not to marry she is presented with opportunities for romance throughout the book and eventually considers the prospect of marriage. "Emma," a lively comedy of manners, is a classic story of 19th century romance and relationships. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper and includes an introduction by Austin Dobson.

'For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them.' A classic work of socio-political satire and still widely read and studied to this day, Utopia sees a fictional traveller describe an ideal society; a vehicle for More to highlight the flaws of sixteenth-century Europe. First published in 1516, Utopia is a political and philosophical satire presented as a dialogue between More and the traveller Raphael Hythlodaeus. Raphael recounts his time visiting the island of Utopia, where private property ceases to exist, all citizens work, and the laws promote equality, education and religious tolerance. Through this imagined society, More indirectly challenges the injustices of European politics, and cleverly reflects on the meaning of justice, governance and what it takes to create a 'perfect' society. Thomas More (1478 – 1535) was an English philosopher, statesman, lawyer and author. Venerated in the Catholic Church, More served Henry VIII as Lord Chancellor from 1529 to 1532. Today, he is noted for being a Renaissance humanist, and is best known for his political work, Utopia.

**Pre-order Elphie, the spellbinding prequel to Wicked, now** The global bestseller that inspired the hit musical phenomenon. Now a major movie and record-breaking box office sensation. ¿ ¿ In this classic tale of good and evil, what if we weren't told the whole story? Long before Dorothy follows the yellow brick road and triumphs over the Wicked Witch of the West, a little girl with emerald-green skin is born in the land of Oz. Elphaba grows up to be smart and prickly, a lonely outsider with an extraordinary talent for magic. Arriving at university, she dares to believe she might finally fit in. But Oz isn't the haven she'd dreamed of. Some of its citizens are in grave danger, and Elphaba is determined to protect them from the Wizard's power. And when the world declares her a wicked witch, Elphaba takes matters into her own hands... This is the original novel by Gregory Maguire, first published in 1995. It is a reimagined prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and contains adult content. ¿ Fall under the WICKED spell this year ¿ 'One of my absolute favourite books! A completely different take on the classic' 'Kept me on the edge of my seat from the second I picked it up' 'I have a penchant for fairytale retellings that are a bit dark and misunderstood villains and this ticked all my boxes' 'This is a real Oz, it makes you believe in it' 'A real joy to sink into a very different world' 'You see the Wicked Witch and Dorothy in a whole new light' 'Funny, sad and unputdownable' 'Honestly, it's better than The Wizard of Oz!' 'Wonderfully written, witty and thought provoking' 'A favourite of mine for many many years'

A PEOPLE Magazine Must-Read Book for Fall 2023 | An Esquire Best Book of Fall 2023 | A Guardian Biggest New Book of 2023 | A LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2023 An imaginative, feminist, and brilliantly relevant-to-today retelling of Orwell’s 1984, from the point of view of Winston Smith’s lover, Julia, by critically acclaimed novelist Sandra Newman. Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It’s 1984, and Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. In this gripping work of feminist fiction, Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. In short, everything about this world is as it is in Orwell’s 1984. All her life, Julia has known only Oceania, and, until she meets Winston Smith, she has never imagined anything else. She is an ideal citizen in this dystopian society: cheerfully cynical, always ready with a bribe, piously repeating every political slogan while believing in nothing. She routinely breaks the rules, but also collaborates with the regime when necessary. Everyone likes Julia. Then one day she finds herself walking toward Winston Smith in a corridor and impulsively slips him a note, setting in motion the devastating, unforgettable events of the classic story. Julia takes us on a surprising journey through Orwell’s now-iconic dystopia, with twists that reveal unexpected sides not only to Julia, but to other familiar figures in the 1984 universe. This unique perspective on a forbidden love under totalitarian rule lays bare our own world in haunting and provocative ways, just as the original did almost seventy-five years ago. This masterful retelling reimagines the classic novel as a story of female resilience, cynical survival, and daring rebellion.